55 Days and Counting: My Quarantine Adventure with Mom and Dad

By Denise Ostuni Fucito

What happens when a 16-day vacation in Florida turns into 55 days of bonding time with your 83-year-old snowbird parents? No more gatherings or activities, just stay-at-home fun in a 1600-square feet condo and an adventure filled with frustration and humor.

Join the author as she spends her days in quarantine with a mother that has no filter and a father who can’t sit still. Ride along with them as they return to their neighboring homes in Connecticut and continue their quarantine journey.

The Covid-19 pandemic changed our lives and altered our ‘normal’ way of existing. As the author’s mother continually stated, “I’m 83 and I’m not going to change now,” she opened her daughter’s eyes to a new way of viewing the world and family life.

What began as a daily diary entry, sent to family and friends to cheer them up in their dreaded isolation, is now a humorous memoir that will make you smile and often relate to life with elderly parents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Oct 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781649794215

Denise Ostuni Fucito

Denise Ostuni Fucito was born and raised in East Northport, LI, NY. She raised her children in Kings Park, NY and in 2007, moved all year round to her summer home on Candlewood Lake in New Fairfield, CT. In addition to being a mother, Denise has held a wide array of roles, including a legal secretary, public relations professional, business teacher, self-employed corporate trainer/coach/keynote speaker, career transition counselor, director of a trade/business private school, and human resource executive. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from New York Institute of Technology and a Master’s Degree in Education from Dowling College. During the pandemic, Denise became motivated to tap into her expansive experiences and began writing of lessons learned in her personal and professional life. She is following her motto by George Eliot: “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”

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About The Author

Denise Ostuni Fucito was born and raised in East Northport, LI, NY. She raised her children in Kings Park, NY and in 2007, moved all year round to her summer home on Candlewood Lake in New Fairfield, CT.

In addition to being a mother, Denise has held a wide array of roles, including a legal secretary, public relations professional, business teacher, self-employed corporate trainer/coach/keynote speaker, career transition counselor, director of a trade/business private school, and human resource executive. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from New York Institute of Technology and a Master’s Degree in Education from Dowling College.

During the pandemic, Denise became motivated to tap into her expansive experiences and began writing of lessons learned in her personal and professional life. She is following her motto by George Eliot: It’s never too late to be what you might have been.

Dedication

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This memoir is lovingly dedicated to my mom and dad, Jenny & Tommy Ostuni, whose encouragement and support guided me through my maiden voyage of writing. They provided ample material and I am forever grateful for their presence in my life. And Mom, you were a good sport.

I could not have continued writing these entries without the encouragement of my family and friends. The feedback kept me going and made me want to continue to lighten our spirits during such troubled and scary times.

I am eternally grateful for my children: Gina, her husband Mike (Shanahan), my precious grandchildren, Tommy and Scarlett, my sons Andrew and Jamie and my nephew Patrick. You all keep me grounded, sane and proud. Hopefully this journal will serve as a manual that will guide you when I enter my 80s.

Thank you to my siblings: my brother Johnny, my brother Charlie (and his wife Lori) and my sister Angela (and her husband John Larson). You’ve always been a source of support and understanding and we are so fortunate to maintain a family bond that is unbreakable. You were all very much a part of this journey, even though you were absolutely no help physically!

Also, thanks to my Caruso Cousins – Cathy, Terri, Anthony, Troy, and Janine. We are the luckiest group of adults that have the privilege of still celebrating milestones with our crazy parents. Thanks Uncle Vinnie, Aunt Patty, Uncle Andy and Aunt Eva for continually providing insights into my parents’ traits. When all of us gather and go ‘down memory lane’ we are fortunate to simultaneously create new memories. Can’t wait until the next reunion.

Thank you to my friends Tina Newman, John Krueger, Kim Falci, and Virginia Russell – you have each served as my ‘help’ desk support person at various times throughout my life and I am so lucky to be able to count on you as sounding boards and dear friends.

To my ‘Summa Sistas’ – Barbara Lynch, Cathy Marasco, Donna DeSantis, Gloria Craven, Jean Kavanagh, Judy Garbowski, Karly Becker, Kathy Shanahan, Katie Cyganowski, Maria Stonecipher, Maureen Clegg, Maureen Roberts, Nancy Hyland, Maura Rail, Theresa Stark, and Teresa Wohr, as well as their husbands, and my pals Jules Leo and Scott Stevens. A special thanks for providing me with daily friendship and comfort. I appreciate you all for keeping my social calendar full all year round and for preventing me from ever having to refer to my life as lonely or dull. You inspire me when I am with you individually and when we are together as a mob. May we never be too old to party all night – even if we have to social distance.

And finally, thanks to the Austin Macauley publishing team, especially my production coordinator, Hannah Scott, for guiding me in my maiden writing voyage and making sure I didn’t sink like the Titanic.

Copyright Information ©

Denise Ostuni Fucito 2021

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

All of the events in this memoir are true to the best of author’s memory. The views expressed in this memoir are solely those of the author.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Fucito, Denise Ostuni

55 Days and Counting

ISBN 9781649794208 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781649794215 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021918935

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published 2021

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

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Introduction

In February 2020, I was working in Manhattan as VP of Human Resources for a private finance company. In an effort to cut my Connecticut to NYC commuting time, I rode the NJ Path Train twice a week to stay with my son in Jersey City. During this time, there was so much confusion regarding the onset of Covid-19. In mid-February, I was ill for three days and clueless as to whether I had a virus, flu, or was just feeling under the weather. I later discovered that I had several symptoms that are common with Covid, but I was never tested, and so I can’t say whether I had the virus or not.

My annual vacation to Florida was planned for March 8th through March 23rd. When I